Cardio, Strength & Core Circuits… Wednesday Workout Time!

May 1, 2013April 30, 20135 Comments

Happy hump day, Burpees to Bubbly readers! How is your week going so far? Mine started off a bit rocky, and for no real reason, either. Monday just kind of sucked! Traffic, bad drivers, low class numbers, post-weekend depression. Anyone else ever feel like that on a Monday?

Anyway, I thought you might be in the need for a new workout today to spice up your weekely workouts. Yes? No? Maybe you can at least take a couple of moves or the general theme of the workout and put your own moves in to make the workout more fit for your level. Regardless, I’m going to share it with you:)

I did this workout in a couple of different classes over the past couple of weeks and it was killer! In class, for circuit 2, we used the bench for cardio, so I changed up the moves in the above workout to be doable without a bench.

Squat & OH Press

Dokey Kicks- they love to hate me when I make them do these:)

As the notes say, you can do just circuit 1, just circuit 2, circuit 1 followed by circuit 2, OR do 2 rounds of each. Whatever you do, make sure you don’t forget the “meat” part of the circuit sandwich: burpees and push-ups!! My favorite;)

If you have any other questions on the moves/exercises and how to modify (whether that would be making it more challenging or less challenging), please let me know… I am more than happy to help!

Questions for you: What is the move you love to hate the most?! (burpees, for me… but I really don’t hate them at all!) What is your all time favorite exercise? All time LEAST favorite exercise?

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Up the Ladder Workout

April 9, 20132 Comments

Hey everyone! I wanted to share this “Up the Ladder” workout that I taught in one of my classes last week. I have seen a bunch of different “ladder” workouts floating around the blog world lately, so I decided to take that idea and run with it, of course adding in my own flair.

The toe taps really get your heart rate up and then the step-up and row move is there to build strength, but also lower your heart rate.

Notes about counting:

-Each toe tap counts as one, so count 1-2-3-4 for the right foot tap, left foot tap, right foot then left foot… and so on

-Step up and row- step up with the right and then the left counts as 1 rep, so you’ll actually end up doing double rows (you can’t count each lead step up separately for the odd-numbered reps)

-Alternating lunges- right and left lunge= 1 rep, so only count on one leg (just like the step up and rows). Again, you’ll end up doing double the number of biceps curls in each rep set.

Feel free to modify up or down as you see fit! Also, if you’re just starting out, you can do reps in the following sequence: 2-4-6-8-10 which will help decrease the intensity of the workout.

Questions for you: Ladder workouts- love ’em or hate ’em? If you love them, do you have a favorite one you want to share?

Lovage Babyblends

I wanted to share a quick note about a company that my friend Jess just started in case there are any new moms reading my blog or anyone who knows any new moms. Jess has just started her own organic baby food company, which is really, really exciting! She has worked incredibly hard over the past 6 months or so and everything is finally up and running, so I encourage you to head over to her site and check it out. She does home deliveries and has a few locations that she is selling her products at, so there are many options for you to be able to get some of the goods! Also, we have partnered up for her monthly news letter for a “Mommy’s Moves” workout which is SO fun. More to come on that later, though:)

Boot Camp and Supersets

April 2, 20134 Comments

Where did the “warm” weather go?! I guess this is what comes with the spring season.

How about a little workout for you? I did this in my total body conditioning class last week and it was a good one. The workout starts with a boot camp style and moves to a supersets & cardio style at the end, which is a nice way to break up the class if you ask me!

Obviously this can be modified up or down as you wish. Here are some possible modifications:

1. Don’t use a weight for the squat w/OH extension OR use a heavier weight

2. Step forward into a squat rather than jumping OR jump higher/further

3. Push-ups can be done on your knees OR try lifting a leg

etc., etc. If you’re looking for a more specific modification, please shoot me an email (burpeestobubbly@gmail.com) or leave a note in the comments section! YouTube is also a great resource to get visuals for the moves (froggers or bunny hops, for instance).

For the supersets, try challenging yourself with the weights! If you usually curl 5’s or 8’s, try going to 8’s or 10’s or 12’s… It might feel tough at first, but you’ll be amazed how quickly your muscles grow stronger when you increase the weight you’re using (I promise, you don’t get bulky! But you will get more tone and definition:) )

Let me know if you try this!

Questions for you: Do you like circuit style workouts or do you prefer workouts where you don’t have to repeat anything? I know I do circuits often, but they aren’t my favorite! They are great for causing muscle fatigue, though:)

60 Seconds Stations Workout

March 13, 2013February 14, 20153 Comments

Hi, hi, hi!

While I am in NYC for work, I wanted to share a workout that I have been loving lately. It’s tough, but what I love is that there is no chance to get bored and it can be modified very easily. Not to mention, it is totally doable at home! I note that we used a bench for the cardio and weighted bars for the strength, but if you are at home and don’t have a step and only have dumbbells, that is totally fine!

Instead of resting in between each set (note: the “sets” are the rows in the table above), I had my members do 25 pushups. Nothing like doing 100 pushups as an “active” rest;)

If you prefer to pick one set and repeat it 4 times (instead of doing the different sets), that is a sure way to exhaust your muscles and “feel the burn” (yeah, I just said that… ).

If you need modifications, let me know. Also, if you try this, let me know what your “choice” exercises were for each station… I love seeing how creative people get:)

Now, go get your workout on and have a great day!

Dallas, Y’all!

March 10, 20133 Comments

Howdy! (sorry, I had to!) Sorry for being a little MIA this week (I tried to keep you entertained with some facebook updates, photo’s and workouts, though), but from the time my alarm went off at 5am on Tuesday from the time I walked in the door Thursday night at 10:15pm, I had literally zero free time. It’s a good thing that I like my coworkers so much:)

I am not going to recap everything, but I will say that there were some very funny videos, terrific speakers and lots of laughs! I kept Tuesday night fairly low-key since I knew I had to be at the hotel for my professional photo at 7am on Wednesday morning. I lead a very small boot camp workout (big thanks to JP and Doan for showing up!) before meeting up with the crew for a Mexican dinner. Check out the size of this gym!!! Amazing. I was in fitness heaven:)

We just did a quick 25 minute workout- 5 minute warm up & 2 10 minute circuits of 10 moves done for 60 seconds each. I did a similar workout in my hotel room on Wednesday morning, too. Even though I had to get up so early, I knew I wouldn’t regret the workout!

Wednesday night was the awards dinner. I knew I might be in trouble when we had a happy hour that lasted, ohhh like 2 hours. Whoops! (note to self, there is really no need to double fist when it’s an open bar all night.)

Post dinner, more drinks and socializing, we managed to round up the troops and head to Sfuzzi’s. Enter: more drinks, loads of dancing, and a push-up contest. Yes, you read that correctly.

Sonja took a video, but it was too dark and blurry. I will say, though, that I won the contest haha

Anyway, I love that I have lots of fun work friends, it’s just a shame that we work in offices across the country. Maybe that’s why things get so messy when we get together?